Negative Gamer

NGCast 1.04: MONSTER TRUCKS

Halfleft — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:00:18 +0000

Wardrox is slowly assimilated into American culture with a trip to see Monster Trucks (Grave Digger is his most favourite one ever). Meanwhile, I do something really manly and worry about my hair-do. Accompanying these topics on this week’s episode of the NGCast are:

The Negative Gamer mug has arrived, it is massive.
Round five of the Battledrome, including this week’s result and next week’s game.
Voice mails! Yay!

If you could leave a review on iTunes it would mean a lot to Wardrox and myself. A five star review is also good for one free hug. Don’t forget to leave a comment or voice mail!

MP3, Leave a voicemail (via Skype), iTunes (review us here), Zune, PodFeed, Podcast.com, Podcast.com, ZENcast, Any other RSS, Subscribe by Email

NG Pint Mug Now Available

wardrox — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:30:57 +0000

After days of waiting I am very happy to announce that the Negative Gamer Pint Mug is now available to buy! Whilst not scientifically provable, I have found my coffee does taste better when there’s a dinosaur on the side of the cup.

The mug measures 4.5 inches tall and has a 3.25 inch diameter. In total this means it can hold a pint of coffee… or any other beverage of your choice (or pens). It’s also safe to put through the dishwasher and microwave, though probably not at the same time.

The mug costs $14.99 + shipping and any money made from sales will go directly into paying NG’s server bills. My mug took just over a week to arrive and when it did, the mug was wrapped in giant bubble wrap. Me and Chelsea both danced on the giant bubble wrap and deemed it to be satisfactory.

You can see more pics of the mug in the gallery below and you can buy it via Cafepress right here.

Microsoft Ruin Halo 2’s Going Away Party

wardrox — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:59:14 +0000

After news spread of Microsoft’s “tough” decision to pull Live support for the original Xbox (and Xbox games on the 360), Bungie decided to give Halo 2 something of a send off. Talking on their official blog they told gamers they should “rally to go online for one last hoorah” on April 14th. Little did they know that Microsoft, being super efficient, had already pulled the required Halo 2 DLC .

The four DLC packs are required in all Halo 2 online playlists and unless they’re already on the Xbox’s hard drive, need to be re-downloaded. However, as part of the preparation for removing the online portion of all non-360 games, the DLC has already been removed from the servers. The only way to get the maps currently is to find the multiplayer disc with them all on.

Over the weekend some hope was given to those angry fans when Bungie forum user Vots33 got in contact with Microsoft customer support and was informed that “[Microsoft are] going to make an exception with Halo 2, and put the DLC back up on the servers”.

Sadly, this turned out to be a lie. No official word has come out from Microsoft and the only snippets of feedback Halo fans seem to be getting are generic and worthless. Bungie for their part have said they’re very much aware of the problem and are actively working on finding a solution.

Via: Kotaku

Ranticlimax: The Curse of Monkey Island

Peter "SurplusGamer" Silk — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 05:03:08 +0000

Of all the things that a game can get wrong, the ending is often the most frustrating, particularly when the rest of the game has been extremely good. It’s like following a map to buried treasure, only to find someone got to the X before you. Or like buying a parrot then, after years of patient training, finding out that it’s not the kind that can talk. Or sawing off your own leg and replacing it with a peg-leg, moments before discovering that you can’t think of any more piratey analogies to shoehorn into the intro of your Negative Gamer column.

In this new column I will be looking at such endings, exploring where and why they weren’t satisfying and perhaps in some cases suggesting how they could have been so much better. First off, a game in a series very close to my heart: The Curse of Monkey Island.

Released by LucasArts in 1997, The Curse of Monkey Island was the third game in the Monkey Island series and the first to be made without the involvement of the series’ original creator, Ron Gilbert. This, and a six year gap since the previous game meant that a lot of people had their doubts as to whether anyone could pull it off. A lot has changed since the days of 320×200 resolution graphics and MIDI scores: not only was the series getting a brand new and initially controversial look but we would be hearing the voices of the characters for the first time. Everything from the voice of Guybrush Threepwood to the colour of his hair was to be the subject of intense scrutiny, so it’s a testament to how much care was taken with the game that it was embraced almost completely by the vigilant, slightly stuck-in-their-ways fanbase.

In an adventure game, story and characters are almost everything. You can have all the good inventory puzzles in the world and if there’s not enough motivation in the story for the player to get through them, it’s for nothing. Conversely, with a great plot filled with character, a few duff puzzles can be surprisingly easy to forgive. In such story-driven games, it seems particularly important that we are delivered a satisfying dénouement; something meaty enough to serve as both a reward for our puzzle-solving prowess and a proper resolution to all the plot that has come before.

With all that in mind, let me now describe the ending cinematic of The Curse of Monkey Island: there’s an explosion, some ice falls on the main bad guy, LeChuck, and then some people wave as our hero Guybrush and love interest Elaine sail off into the sunset, just married (oh, and Murray the Skull vows to return). Fin. Now, you may be thinking that I’m skimping on some details but bear in mind that all of this happens in merely one minute and two seconds before the credits roll. Thirty of those seconds are the waving and sailing bit. I’m not joking: look!

Some of you may have noticed that in the end sequence to a game in a series that prides itself on its sharp dialogue, precisely no words are spoken until the last fifteen seconds. It’s almost as if the team were aware that the ending was woefully inadequate and so, as a desperate afterthought, cut out and shifted one of Murray’s lines to the end to make it seem marginally better. To say that this was something of a let down would be an understatement, particularly when the ending of Monkey Island 2 blew my ten year old mind so hard that I’ve never truly recovered.

Unlike so many of these cases, we do actually have a fairly reliable account of what went wrong. In a Mixnmojo.com interview with Jonathan Ackley, Co-Project Leader, he states:

We had a big battle cutscene at the end planned, and we cut it for budget reasons. We knew we could do two big scenes, and we picked the shipwreck in the middle of the game. Probably not the best choice, but it had this great Kilt joke we wanted. Truth is, we probably could have done the ending. I think management expected us to go over budget as it was our first project as producers so I think they probably had some secret budget for overages hidden somewhere that would have allowed us to do the scene. But staying on budget was very important to Larry and I so we made the decision to lose the scene. From a story-telling point of view, it was the less important scene. From a pure drama point of view, it was probably more important.

This refreshingly frank explanation puts things into perspective, somewhat, when you realise that it all came down to a budget and a difficult decision of what to cut and that there were arguments on both sides. Turns out that this game-making is a complicated business –who would have thought?

Budgets and decision making aside, what Ackley and Ahern failed to calculate when making that decision is that storytelling isn’t simply about getting from plot point A to plot point B, it’s about reincorporation and resolution, especially at the end. Skimping on those duties meant that Curse of Monkey Island’s failed to build enough momentum to trip that switch in the brain which tells us ‘Relax now, it’s over.’ For that satisfaction, I would have given up a kilt joke a dozen times over.

Wardrox’s Vlog 7th Feb; Monster Trucks, Mugs and YouTube

wardrox — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 16:09:27 +0000

Negative Gamer’s new YouTube channel is up and can be found (and subscribed too… HINT HINT) at youtube.com/TubeNegative.

I also give mention of some more info on the sexy NG mug and a change (Oh god not change!) coming to this very video blog. Why are you not a millionaire?

Haiku Review: Going to Watch Monster Trucks

wardrox — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 22:23:08 +0000

My ears are ringing.
Grave Digger? Spectacular.
So American

Bioware: SD Mass Effect’s Tiny Text Here to Stay

triumphofhearts — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 17:01:27 +0000

It wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume that debacles surrounding microscopic text in a slew of next generation titles would prompt developers to take heed of those playing in standard definition. Dead Rising wowed gamers upon release with a scrolling ticker tape of vital information presented at what appeared the equivalent of a 2-point font in Microsoft Word. The furore caused by the common gamer was sizeable. More recently, Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts, the Mechano set-come-racing reboot of Rare’s golden platforming franchise, offered on screen instructions at a size that again begged question as to whether developers test work-in-progress builds on anything other than 86” plasma screens.

Today, gamers worldwide again curse at chicken scratch textual presentation in Mass Effect 2. Similar to Capcom’s Dead Rising response some years prior, Bioware’s Michael Gamble yesterday stood up via a post on their official forums to disappoint 16 previous pages of shared complaint. While acknowledging “that on some Standard Definition TVs the smallest text in Mass Effect 2 can be difficult to read” he proceeded “we are unable to resolve it for Mass Effect 2 through a title update”.

Case closed for Bioware and their wall filling monitors, but what of the hordes without 720p and above? Unless Mass Effect 2’s text is formatted as image files rather than data, I struggle to see (though I am sure I will be corrected) how the title cannot receive a plain update as per Banjo’s wheely adventure to boost the font size to a level which can be enjoyed by eye strengths and consumer electronics’ budgets worldwide.

Via: Eurogamer

More iPhone Developers Than DS or PSP Developers

wardrox — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 02:06:22 +0000

A study of “814 users of Game Developer magazine, Gamasutra, and attendees of the Game Developers Conference” (available here, for $2k+) showed that there are more people calling themselves “game developers” who make iPhone applications than for the DS and the PSP. No figures or useful context are given and the news comes via a post on Electronista.

I would say that this shows there are more amateur developers. The iPhone is a cheap way to become a very small developer and the shift in percentages (no figures are given, just proportions) towards Apple simply reflects this.

However, I am clearly wrong as Gizmodo have decided this shows that Apple are destroying Nintendo and Sony (helpfully illustrated with a graphic of the situation, seen in this article). Apparently a race with unspecified rules among hand held developers exists and Apple are winning it.

Maths. Serious business.

Facebook Adding Game Panel, Terrible Games Imminent

Aaron "Wheaty" — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:25:06 +0000

Facebook is preparing for the launch of its “Game Panel,” which will allow you to access all your terrible flash games in a much more concise manner now. Already the overjoyed cheers of millions of virtual farmers and chefs can be heard throughout the land. Farmville alone has approximately 76 million users, and Zynga reports a total of 230 million users across all games. To put that in perspective, that’s about 20 times the number of World of Warcraft subscribers.

This speaks to the way casual gaming has really taken off. A game about farming that could be coded in a week is seven times more popular than a 5 year old MMO with a 10 gigabyte client. Now all 230 million of these users aren’t taking part in micro-transactions, but if even ten percent of that userbase was buying funny money, I’d say Zynga is making some decent profit.

With the recent accusations of Zynga scamming its customers, I am surprised Facebook is going to extra lengths to integrate even more with Zynga. If news breaks out that Zynga is once again scamming its customers, Facebook is inevitably going to be blamed as well. Lets hope an Evony toolbar isn’t the next update.

Via: GamesBeat

[NGR] Scientists Warn Original Video Game Idea Deposits Are Almost Depleted

Negative Gamer Reporter — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 20:39:54 +0000

A study released today has issued stark warnings that the supply of original ideas from which all video games are based on may run out within the next two years.

Pumped dry by liberals?

Video game ideas are found underground all over the world in deep deposits, but they may not be as deep as once thought.

The impending short-fall of originality is expected to be much larger than the World War Two Shooter Drought of the last decade which saw dozens of games forced to use the same idea.

Not all game production companys have been caught unaware however; a senior at Activision Blizzard told NGR that “we have been expecting and training for this for a while now.”

“We believe we, and many other large game companies, have the ground-work in place to allow one single idea to be stretched much further than previously thought possible.”

It is also expected that idea hybrids will become more common, with announcements of Madden of Duty and Bejewelled Clone Hero being just two recent examples of what many are calling a short-term, yet viable solution.

The US Government has said that if supplies reach critical levels they will start a new war outside of the Middle East on which games can be based.

Microsoft Dumping Original Xbox Live Games

wardrox — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:03:37 +0000

Firstly and most importantly, if you still want to play Star Wars: Battlefront 2 you can use the PC version which has a proper online service that won’t desert you after a few years.

Microsoft in all their wisdom has decided that the money it takes to support the original Xbox is just too much. As of April 15th they are not just reducing the online service, or replacing it with some cut-down version, they’re removing it altogether. This includes removing online play from games they claimed were compatible with the Xbox 360.

Obviously this is a move to curb costs; supporting a little played and unimportant console like the original Xbox does not make sense from a business perspective. Wait… oh, I mean they are moving forward to harrumph some innovation… something about experiences and harnessing power. Probably.

A Message To Nintendo: Make These Fan-Made Zelda Screenshots Into a Game

Harry — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 12:00:53 +0000

Dear Nintendo,

I feel the need to pretend to write to you about Zelda with regards to finding an innovative way of making an article out of some brilliant fan-made Zelda screenshots. Looking at said screenshots I can comfortably say that the creator has absolutely no idea what they are doing and Twilight Princess was perfect and was exactly what I wanted from a next generation Zelda game.

You may have realised by now that I am lying and have nothing but constructive criticism to give you about the latter Zelda games in the franchise.

To whomever this may concern at Nintendo please take a look at the fantastic images that a loyal and devoted fan has created using Garry’s Mod and find it in your heart to adapt them into the next Zelda outing on the Wii. Sure, the screenshots depict a more vivid approach to the violence in Zelda. However, how can you disagree with me when I say that this is what a next generation Zelda game should look like?

While I am just one person, I hope that you take a look at the pictures and at least consider the possibility that maybe, just maybe The Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks and Twilight Princess weren’t as good as they could have been and making a Zelda game that looked like this would be a good move.

Thank you for reading my message.

Yours faithfully,

A massive Majora’s Mask fan who wishes you would revive the magic of the N64 Zelda games for this generation.

P.S. I have attached a gallery of images for your delectation so you don’t even have to open a new webpage to admire the craftsmanship. However, if you would like to see more then you can also view the original site here.

Fallout: New Vegas Trailer Shows Nothing Interesting

Pandara — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:30:07 +0000

Today, on Bethesda’s main Fallout page they have revealed their Fallout: New Vegas trailer consisting of a robot looking through some sand, and a guy looking at the top-heavy machine. (These revelations can be seen with your own eyes at their own trailer page here or view it below).

It is starting to be a big trend (if not already) to show a mysterious trailer, showing very little of anything, yet trying to capture the attention of the audience with hidden tidbits that spark interest in the viewer. These details are meant to feel like you’ve caught something, found something you weren’t supposed to, and get you pumped for the game at hand. Though the ones I’ve found so far create the feeling of “what the heck does that have to do with anything?”.

Examples of these hidden gems are:

What looks like a Pipboy on the shady wastelander’s arm. (Surprise, you’re still a wastelander)
The California State Flag held by the wastelander.
A “Blue Moon” cover by Frank Sinatra being played from the robot’s built-in TV.
An A and seven on the wastelander’s coat. (Signifying what?)

The trailer didn’t pop out at me, or spark my interest in Fallout: New Vegas what so ever.

Dante’s Inferno’s Desperate Advertising Hides in Site’s Sourcecode

wardrox — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:30:59 +0000

Since it began I’ve found Dante’s Inferno to have crap advertising. Yes it gets us all talking, clap clap, but as I’ve explained it’s the long-term damage that’s the problem (in this case to not just to the PR company, but also the site’s that took the money). In another strange move the game’s PR team have been advertising on websites subversively, unbeknownst to the site in question’s editorial staff.

In the source code for a number of websites, like Kotaku, ASCII art leading people to the game’s PR site can be found. Most sites’ source code has fun little Easter egg in (Negative Gamer’s actual back-end code that nobody can even see has some), but what troubles me here is that, according to Kotaku, the site’s staff were kept out of the loop. Either the PR company went to the the site’s owners directly, or used their existing ad-space to pump the extra code into the site. From the position in the source code on The ‘Tak, I would say the former is almost certain.

Perhaps it’s simply the fact that I’m a coder by trade and dislike seeing their code being changed without them noticing, or perhaps it’s that Gawker have had malicious code running on their site’s disguised as adverts in the past that makes me feel uneasy. The notion that hidden adverts are able to be placed on a number of high-profile websites (including Digg, GameSpot, IGN and Games Radar) without the staff’s consent does not sit right with me. It all just seems so damn sneaky.

Then again, I’m not sure what I would have expected. The “enthusiast press” (even those thought to be independent) have shown time and time again they’ll do whatever it takes to earn some sweet PR money. In return PR companies have shown they’re number one concern is simply getting the name of the game out, and screw the damage it does.

Negative Gamer Review: Gerbil Physics (Xbox Live Indie Games)

Pendelton — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:00:10 +0000

After a couple of months of doing these Indie Game reviews, I’ve begun to understand what makes the best ones so good. Games like I MAED A GAM3 W1TH ZOMB1ES!!!1 and Galax-e-mail use simple mechanics and create a fun game that can be enjoyed with little time invested. A great Indie Game should be a sweet little treat that doesn’t need expert graphics or long involved storylines to be fun.

One such title that does this is Gerbil Physics, the second game from developer Pencel Games. (Thanks to Pencel for sending us a review copy of the game). Gerbil Physics has you destroying towers of gerbil-enhanced blocks over 24 levels using ropes, bombs, and Newton. The aim is to try and drop the towers in as little moves as possible, for big points.

Bring The Mouse Down

To complete each level, you must use the tools at your disposal to get all the gerbil blocks below an on-screen red line. The tools are given to you progressively through the game. You start with two-second long timed bombs, eventually move up to ropes that you can use to drag blocks and a finally a disintegration tool. Each level you’re given a certain amount of each item, with some levels having item pick-ups that can be used if you manage to maneuver a gerbil block and grab them. Use up all your items without getting the blocks under the line however, and you fail.

Over the course of the 24 levels the difficulty ramps up gradually. Every few levels you face a new obstacle, such as buildings that can’t be touched, or Iron Gerbils that are heavier than other blocks. Some levels also add in explosive scenery elements that can help or hinder you, depending on how you use them. Every level feels fun and complex enough to keep you spellbound throughout the entire game, which can be completed in a couple of hours. Nothing is really groundbreaking, but it’s damn enjoyable.

The physics the game revolves around actually works very well at times. When towers get knocked into odd angles, they tend to topple over as you’d expect. Sometimes these angles can awkwardly wedge blocks in place, with them slowly sliding downward. This leads to points where you’re staring at the screen waiting, watching, as the blocks move ever so slightly under the red line. While this adds some suspense to the proceedings, it also adds some frustration.

We All Fall Down

More than a few times I’ve had the level end while blocks are still in motion. You’re forced to watch as you fail the level and complete it at the same time. Also, there’s an inconsistency with blasting blocks above the screen. Sometimes, the blocks fall back to earth, and other times they fly off and aren’t heard from again. These are only minor nitpicks, though, and are overshadowed by the animations and the overall look of the game.

Each level looks like it’s from Braid: multi-level, hand-drawn backgrounds filled with pastel colors. The gerbils themselves are, pardon the phrase, fucking cute as buttons. Rather than have the gerbils just be static blocks, each is animated depending on what is happening to them. They have looks of horror if you place a bomb near them, then scream as they fly through the air. Then, when they’re under the red line, they have these wonderful contented grins. It’s almost as fun watching them go, as it is to play the whole game.

At a price of 80 MS points, this is a great, cheap way to spend a couple hours of your day. The gameplay is fun without being too shallow, and while it may disappoint at times, its aesthetics overcome by being just plain adorable. Sure, you might delete Gerbil Physics after level 24, but the time spent with the game will be enjoyable.

A few other points worth mentioning:

Upon failure, you can opt to skip the level completely and come back to it later.
The backgrounds come in three different varieties: icy mountain, sunny beach and majestic field.
Each level ends with word blocks dropping on the onto it, with congratulating or decrying messages depending on how well you did. You can mess around with these blocks if you have any leftover items.
For an extra challenge, most of the levels have a Wipeout star that you can acquire. These can be collected by completing either super-hard levels, or finishing a level with the least amount of items possible.

You might like this game if…

…you enjoy puzzle games, even a little bit.

A simple adorable puzzle game you can waste an afternoon with.

(What does this score mean?)

Australian Government Repeals Political Censorship Law

Aaron "Wheaty" — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:02:52 +0000

Australia has always been known for its strict censorship of games. While the game censorship issue is huge, the Australian government managed to incite an even bigger uproar with its latest attempt at expanding its “protective gaze.” Last month South Australia passed a law that required anyone discussing political issues to provide their name and address, or face a fine of up to AUS $1,250. If NG had a “Doing it Wrong” leaderboard, Australia would have achieved the rank of “Pissing in a Gunshot Wound” with this stunt.

After an absolutely enormous outcry not just from the Australian people but from almost every western media outlet, the Australian government decided yesterday to retract the law.

Reading this again and again, I still can’t believe that the South Australian government tried to implement this. When you’re collecting the names of people as if you were assembling some sort of hit list, you don’t think there is going to be an outrage? This isn’t a step towards full censorship, it’s a giant leap. The whole point of criticizing government is to keep the government accountable for their actions. When the ability to hold the government accountable is lost, then what’s to stop them from even more drastic action?

Credit goes to the Australian people for making their voice heard, but the sad part of this story is that the Australian government didn’t have to back down. They could have just as well told the Australian people to jump in a lake, and enacted the law. Who’s to say they wont try to enact the law at a later junction? Yet another chapter unfolding in the unfortunate book of Australian censorship.

Darksiders to be THQ’s Whipping Boy in Q3

Philbart999 — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:15:19 +0000

Each year many worthy games go unappreciated by the sweaty masses. That’s just a reality of the games industry. What must really sting the publishers and developers though is when they invest significant resources into a game that garners respectable scores and it still fails to meet projections. It would seem that Darksiders is vying for the award as the next Psychonauts, and is also poised to be THQ’s whipping boy as we approach fiscal year-end.

Reporting for Industry Gamers, James Brightman explores this very issue. In Brightman’s piece he consults analyst Todd Greenwald about THQ’s upcoming Q3 earnings report, who said that Darksiders “didn’t perform up to THQ’s expectations, likely selling less than 1 million units despite heavy marketing dollars [and] 2-3 years of development costs.” Though they also go on to discuss that MX vs. ATV Reflex and other Wii titles are also contributing to the poor fiscal performance for the publisher, it’s interesting that Darksiders is the title that is highlighted for the fail label.

There is irony in the fact that a dog of a game like MX vs. ATV Reflex or some Wii shovelware, and a credible Zelda-inspired action game are all mentioned in the same breath. Unfortunately this feels like yet another nail in the coffin for creative new IPs. Recently EA has been burned by underperforming new IPs like Mirror’s Edge, Brutal Legend, and their numerous Wii failures. Pandemic Studios shut operations just before Christmas 2009 and right after the release of The Saboteur, also an underappreciated original IP.

If you’re the kind of person who is cynical, and we all know the name of this site, then you can look forward to Guitar Hero 8, Call Of Duty 7 Space Warfare, and Rock Band-High School Musical coming to a games retailer near you soon.

Something New Has Arrived at Negative Gamer

wardrox — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 23:36:08 +0000

More details will come over the next few days.

Dante’s Inferno Producer Sees Potential in Shakespeare Adaptations

OrangeGoblin — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:30:52 +0000

It seems that Dante’s Inferno executive producer Jonathan Knight isn’t just content with plundering the work of Italian poets from the Middle Ages; he’d also like to take a crack at the Bard.

Speaking to Industry Gamers, Knight expressed a desire to produce Macbeth: The Game.

Despite its bloody reputation, the body count in Macbeth is actually pretty low. Is there enough content in there for an action game? They could always pad it out with a few blood-scrubbing minigames I suppose.

Knight admits that adapting the Scottish play wouldn’t be easy, but he thinks Visceral Games could make it work:

[It's] something I’ve been thinking about for years, but now, I think the emotional quality that games are achieving and the value level of the acting and the sound work makes it possible.

The thing is, the unique quality of games is being interactive; it’s about action and killing things and pursuing those mechanics is tricky when bringing in classic media; Dante’s is more of a violent interpretation of the poem for example.

Macbeth would be great, though; there are witches and a supernatural experience along with plenty of intrigue and murder.

Sounds fantastic. I look forward to playing Macbeth: Toil and Trouble sometime in 2011, followed by Caesar: Et 2 Brute in 2012. I hear it’s going to have co-op.

ESRB Pull Morally Outraged Dead or Alive Content Review [Update]

triumphofhearts — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:45:09 +0000

The ESRB functions as a governing body to highlight and rate dubious content before titles are cleared for release. Titillation extravaganza Dead of Alive Paradise, the tenuous part sequel to the Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball series, recently appeared under ESRB scrutiny but with a distinctly un-impartial slant.

The quote in question (since pulled) read “the game also contains bizarre, misguided notions of what women really want (if given two weeks, paid vacation, island resort)—Paradise cannot mean straddling felled tree trunks in dental-floss thongs.” Despite the title’s unquestionably male gaze, the ESRB exists to make note of, rather than criticise, a games content. A listing should stand as a descriptor of violent or sexual content rather than an opinionated discussion on the moral value of such material.

Wikipedia suggests that the ESRB occasionally sanctions “raters” to look over upcoming titles, “in essence allowing people who aren’t regular video game players, to review games as if they were the customer and receiving their first glance at the game.” Regardless of source, off the back of today’s now dissipated angry slur, it looks that perhaps it is additional content editors that everyone’s favourite ratings board should seek to employ.

The original listing in full:

[UPDATE]

ESRB spokesperson Eliot Mizrachi later issued a statement explaining the sudden retraction with reference to the “subjective” language found in the original.

The rating summary for Dead or Alive Paradise was posted to our website in error, and we have since replaced that version with the corrected one. We recognize that the initial version improperly contained subjective language and that issue has been addressed.

Our intention with rating summaries is to provide useful, detailed descriptions of game content that are as objective and informative as possible. However they are ultimately written by people and, in this case, we mistakenly posted a rating summary that included what some could rightfully take to be subjective statements.

We sincerely regret the error and will work to prevent this from happening again in the future.

Via: Game Politics

Erik Estavillo Drops All Lawsuits

Aaron "Wheaty" — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:15:31 +0000

Erik Estavillo, the now famous “professional plaintiff,” has decided to drop all current lawsuits. Estavillo states that the constant court battles have aggravated his various (and probably fabricated) health conditions. His doctors have advised him to drop the suits until his health improves. Estavillo also said, to no-one’s surprise, that he simply did not have the money to continue paying for all the legal fees associated with the lawsuits.

I’m glad to see Erik’s decided to drop the suits. But it seems like it is only a matter of time before he sues Nintendo for making Mario jump too slowly, or sues Valve for making the Heavy too slow in Team Fortress 2, or whatever other asinine accusations he can come up with. Estavillo has failed to win a single lawsuit he has filed, instead deciding to drop each after the defendant supposedly did something to ease his complaint.

Estavillo and his mother originally co-owned a magazine called “Ooooshies Gaming Magazine,” however the only known link appears to be broken, as does the link to his Twitter. I am assuming he’s trying to erase his name from the gaming world. If I was him I would sue the internet for the rights to my name. Who knows, maybe that lawsuit is already in the works.

Wardrox VS Halfleft Battledrome Round 5: Portal

Halfleft — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 19:45:52 +0000

This week Wardrox and I shall be clashing swords in the depths of Aperture Science’s testing facility. The ‘least time’ mode of the Xbox 360 version of Portal (found in The Orange Box) is what we will be playing. Six of the game’s Eleven chapters have time trials available. If you want to take part, be sure to have finished the game as you will need to have unlocked the advanced chambers (if you haven’t already done this, it won’t take long). Select the timed mode by starting a new game, sliding along to chapters 5-10 and pressing up or down.

Highlighting this mode will also display your current best time. Take a picture of it and post it in the comments of this post (I’m afraid this will require six separate pictures as there is no single leader-board to display them all).

Most impressive times will be read out on next week’s NGCast as Wardrox and myself try to understand how and why the game will have inevitably turned against us in order to molest our scores. Feel free to take part with screenshots from the PC version of the game, but let’s face it: that’s not a fair match.

Sony’s Reality Show, The Tester, Gets a Trailer. Is Horrid

wardrox — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 19:07:27 +0000

It burns my eyes! My eyes and ears! In fact, now it’s in my mind and can’t come out! Aaaaah!

Sony have released a trailer for their long awaited and bound-to-be-fantastic reality TV show The Tester. The show sees contestants competing to win the job of being games tester for Sony, which is everyone’s dream job. It looks, from the trailer, like it’s going to be a roller-coaster journey packed with adventure, action, romance and drama. I can’t wait.

Check out the must-see video below, the show starts this month some time! Do what I did and pretend like it’s a fantastic parody, then slowly remember it’s not. This is not a joke.

Image: icanhascheezburger.com

Lawsuit Against Facebook Dropped, Zynga Still in Trouble

Sam "verygoodyear" — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 21:05:15 +0000

A lawsuit against Facebook, regarding Farmville developer Zynga’s use of advertisements that were in fact scams, has been dropped. The class action lawsuit filed back in November by lead plaintiff Rebecca Swift is however being continued against Zynga.

Swift claimed to have been scammed $200 from an advertisement promising a no risk trial of green tea. She had taken the trial in return for virtual currency in Zynga’s online game, YoVille. The case was brought to Facebook’s lawyers because the plaintiff’s law firm argued that Facebook had actively promoted Zynga’s games, despite knowing that they were misleading.

The firm, Cutter & Ratinoff, has decided to dismiss the portion of the lawsuit against Facebook, with MediaPost suggesting the move is prompted by a piece of legislation that protects online companies from getting sued for content they didn’t create, but still appears on their website.

The lawsuit against Zynga is still pending; however Zynga claims that it did not create the ads in question. They no longer run the misleading ads, and now have a strict approval process for their current “offers”.

Zynga has been trying desperately to fix their untrustworthy image with moves such as advertising guidelines and trusted partners like The New York Times, but you don’t live something like this down easily. And there’s Zynga’s CEO Mark Pincus, who said some really silly things once, which I’m sure doesn’t help.

Zynga is also in court with Playdom, another social gaming company that Zynga accuses of stealing their business “playbook” by hiring former employees with key knowledge. Also in dispute is a trademark for Mafia Wars, which Zynga claims was featured in Playdom’s advertising without any attribution. Zynga suggests that it could cause brand confusion due to Playdom having a similar game called “Mobsters”.

Via: Industry Gamers

PSPgo Relaunch Rumoured: No One Surprised

triumphofhearts — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 18:10:09 +0000

Undisclosed sources have apparently told Gamervision that the PSPgo, brunt of countless industry jokes, is looking to boost its much maligned media profile by relaunching in some capacity this year, complete with accompanying “marketing blitz”.

No doubt looking to grab some sort of foothold in the sales clash between not only Nintendo’s DS but also its own able-bodied brother, the flash media based handheld seems a likely candidate for a sales slash. Casual commentators also suggest the potential for partnered PlayStation Network sales incentives to lift it back into favourable, public eye.

Although gamers, shouting mixtures of expletives through tears at Sony’s unbridled cock-up, will continue to cry “JUST LET US USE OUR OWN FUCKING UMD’S”, it seems unlikely that the suspected reboot will really usher much past slashed retail price points or bundled PSN vouchers.

Gamervision suggests GDC as a potential springboard for Sony’s revised campaign. While details past hearsay are scarce, the continued chart absence of the little handheld that couldn’t suggests, with reasonable assurance, that the marketing teams at camp Sony are certainly being forced to consider something. Shame it isn’t a tightly vetted focus group to decide the best font for a “PRODUCT DISCONTINUED” poster. Now that would be met with market acceptance, cheers and graduatory hat launches worldwide.